


Delicate

by ramennuudles



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bucky Barnes being in the wrong place at the worst time possible, Bucky Barnes wearing glasses, Captain America Steve Rogers/Modern Bucky Barnes, Chinese food as a plot device, Cocktail parties, Himbo Solidarity, Inspired by Music, M/M, Napping, Not Beta Read, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Steve Rogers Swears, Steve Rogers and his progressively worse week, Steve Rogers is an asshole, Steve vs google, ape shit bonkers Steve, failed attempts of flirting, firework viewing "date", let Steve Rogers nap 2020, like an unnecessary amount, not on purpose tho
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-31
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:41:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25621555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ramennuudles/pseuds/ramennuudles
Summary: No, Steve Rogers was not having a good time.And no, he did not mean to take it out on an unassuming Bucky Barnes.It's just that the situations are a bit, delicate of some sorts
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers
Comments: 28
Kudos: 133





	1. an accidental asshole move

**Author's Note:**

> helloooooo everyone  
> just suddenly got out of my writer's block. and I'm back with some ~riveting~ content. I was listing to Taylor Swift (bc she fucking slaps) and was inspired to write something, this is what came out of that. 
> 
> though I'm happy to have the motivation to write again I want to talk about some more serious topics. 
> 
> first and foremost, BLACK LIVES MATTER.  
> don't give me that 'all lives matter' bullshit  
> sign petitions and use ur voice!!!! educate urself, friends, and family!!! 
> 
> secondly, and this one hurts to say, I am incredibly disappointed in Sebastian Stan's choices. if you don't use twitter, let me fill u in. after telling his fans to take the virus seriously and how he wouldn't leave nyc since it's selfish to be traveling during this pandemic, he was spotted in Ibiza partying it up on a yacht.  
> celebrities are NOT above this virus. it's frustrating to see someone u really look up to being hypocritical. I don't really want to talk my personal life on here however, there are some ppl I'm close to that are high risk. it's frustrating watching ppl go on their day to day lives (in the u.s) while my ppl could fucking die if they did. please wear a mask and social distance. 
> 
> sorry, I know u came here to read fan fiction not to get scolded but I just wanted to put that out there.

Steve Rogers was _tired._

He'd just come back from an infuriating mission that turned out to be a bust and was immediately forced into a debrief meeting. It took everything in his power to not fall asleep right there. But he stayed awake because he knew that there was an actual bed waiting for him once it was finally over. Just because he didn't fall asleep doesn't mean he paid much attention either.

Steve _really_ should have seen it coming. Fury's voice slowly becoming just morphing with the surrounding white noise as he desperately kept his eyes from drooping too low. 

"Rogers." Steve hums in response to Fury's monotone question. 

"Captain Rogers. Are you even listening?" Fury tries again. Steve closes his eyes fully and debates his options. No matter what he was going to have to be debriefed again, regardless if he's honest or not. The decision comes easy. 

_Fuck it._

"No sir." The looks of alarm from his coworkers as he started to get up from his chair made him break his unbothered expression. "I haven't heard a single word you've said since this meeting started because I'm that fucking tired." Somehow his coworkers shock grew. Sure they had heard Captain America swear before, he was no angel, but hearing him swear at Nick Fury? What a scene. 

"Captain-"

"You know what Fury? No, I've got places to be and being here," he gestures to the group "is a waste of my fucking time. Just like that shitty mission was. Debrief me later." Steve finishes and heads to the door, closing it with a little too much force necessary. He would have probably broken the frame if it wasn't reinforced. _Thanks Tony._ The stares he received from the people just outside the room managed to infuriate him further. 

Now Steve was tired _and_ pissed.

He honestly doubted tonight could get worse. 

The way he was storming around should have been a tell tale warning to everyone to stay away and fuck off. Steve just wanted to get in the elevator and get to his floor without anymore issues. JARVIS certainly didn't pick up on that. With the doors closing he let out a breath of relief. _Finally, a moment alone without anyone-_

"Hold the elevator!" _Fucking shit, Jesus Christ, why me, why today, what the fuck._ Steve wanted to hit the person who prevented him from getting some rest, so much that he literally squares up when they come running into the small box. 

His stance immediately falls when he actually sees the poor guy. Steve felt exhausted but the man standing next to him _definitely_ looked it. Glasses perched low on his on his face and his hair pulled into a low bun not doing it's job well enough. With deep bags under his eyes that rivaled Tony's and unorganized documents siting in his arms, it was a shocker he hadn't dropped anything on his way in. Steve couldn't help but let out a small chuckle at the fact he was about to swing at him. The sound made the shorter man perk his head up at Steve, like he had forgotten that someone else was even in the elevator. 

And the look on his face when he released that _the_ Captain America was the one laughing at him was fucking _priceless_. 

Like Steve had said, he went straight from the jet to the meeting. There was no time in between to change so he's still wearing his stealth suit.

And that's when the guy literally dropped all of his papers. At least the doors were shut so nothing fell out. The man stood unmoving just looking at Steve with his mouth gaping open, obviously attempting to process the current events through his tired brain. Steve looked down at the papers scattered at his feet then back up at the guy facing him who was still staring. 

"Do you, uh, need some help?" Steve slowly asks, trying not to confuse him any further. That breaks his lock on Steve and he glances down at the floor and seemingly keeping his eyes there. After a moment, he answers with a small voice. 

"..yes please." Steve knells down and starts collecting papers, letting the shorter man follow afterwards still avoiding looking at Steve. Though Steve felt like he was going to pass out, this situation was felt absolutely comedic to him. For the brunette next to him, probably more on the side of humiliating. It took most of his will power not to laugh again, he didn't want to make the dude completely crumble into tears. Steve steals a glance and notices the trembling hands grabbing a piece of paper in front of him. His eyes follow the shakiness up to the face.

He was about to burst into tears. 

Steve suddenly doesn't think this is funny anymore. Any anger he felt completely disappeared and was replaced with pity for brunette on the floor. He quickly grabs any remaining papers, attempting to ignore the ache for sleep in his body, and passing them to the other guy. 

"Hey I-" Steve starts just as the elevator doors open. The brunette immediately jumps up and holds the papers close to his chest, basically running out the doors squeaking out a very weak 'thank you sir'. The whole thing happens so fast, or maybe it happened a normal pace, Steve was just so tired he _could not_ for the life of him tell the difference. The doors close once again and Steve is still knelling on the floor. "What the fuck." He picks himself off the floor and leans against the cool elevator walls. _Did I literally hallucinate that entire confrontation?_ "I need to sleep Jesus Christ." 

Luckily he doesn't have to wait long until he hits his floor and basically stumbles into the apartment. Steve felt dead on his feet, the previous events not helping at all. All he wanted to do was go to sleep but he was still in his stupid suit and he needed a shower and he needed to eat some dinner and- 

He punches a hole into the innocent wall besides him. 

Steve stares at it.

Then at his fist.

"Shit."

He'll tell Tony tomorrow. 


	2. go on, throw another stone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi again folks, no I don't have another rant for y'all 2day. however, I do have another chapter. I literally only write at night bc my brain does not function during the day.
> 
> *side note, this chapter was going to have Steve Rogers singing Poker Face by Lady Gaga while cooking pasta and though it got cut, I felt like I needed to let someone know that*

Steve felt like complete shit. For like, a number of reasons. 

Getting torn a new one by Fury was _awful_. Steve knew if he had acted like that in the army he would have be slapped for it. Thank god for human rights.

When Natasha found out what happened with Fury, he had to sit through another grueling scolding session but at the end of this one, he received an incredibly strong punch to the face where even the serum couldn't help him. 

Or probably the worst one of all was that the confrontation in the elevator turned out to _not_ be a sleep deprived hallucination after all and that it really happened. Captain America really did make someone cry by laughing at them.

But it honestly seemed like it couldn't get worse from that. Somehow for Steve it still managed to.

Turns out the guy was Pepper's new assistant, James Barnes and it was his _first_ week working for her. He had been working overtime since her last assistant left James with a ton of paperwork. Tony was laughing his ass off while Steve wanted to melt into the ground evaporate out of existence. Pepper didn't yell at him or anything but she gave him a disappointed look and somehow that stung more than Natasha's punch. 

And the only reason he found out who James was when he was having dinner with Pepper and Tony. 

_"Tony, would you do me a_ _favour and check the footage from the elevator to my office? My new assistant James came into my office bawling his eyes out while giving me some finished paperwork. I need to know what happened."_

Steve nearly fucking choked on the potato he was eating before explaining how he accidentally made the poor guy cry. 

He cringes thinking about that conversation. God his wishes it had been a hallucination. Then he wouldn't feel as guilty. Steve had spent hours looking up _'what to get someone who doesn't work for you but works for you when you make them cry in an_ _elevator by laughing at them'_ That google search did not heed him any valid answers for obvious reasons. 

Instead, Steve decided the best way to go about his life was to completely avoid Pepper while she was working so that he would never have to see James and upset him again by being unintentionally mean. It was a good idea in theory since he didn't see her much anyways, he just had to be a bit more careful. 

That had worked for about 2 days until it just _fucking didn't._

After Tony finished making fun of Steve for punching a hole in his wall, calling him a 'Kyle' _whatever that_ _meant,_ he promised that he would send someone to asses the damage done to the wall. The blonde was thankful, the guilt kept building anytime Steve noticed the fist size hole staring back at him. 

In Steve thankfulness, he forgot one very important detail. 

Tony Stark is an asshole first, and a friend second. 

He _really_ should have seen it coming. 

During Steve's time spent in the tower, JARVIS had been nothing but kind and useful for Steve. Always letting him know when he had a guest arriving or if he had a meeting scheduled. 

So he knew wasn't expecting anyone and decided to take advantage of his new found free time. 

Steve decided to take a long ass nap on his couch. 

Because he was finally getting some shut eye, he did _not_ take kindly to the person lightly shaking his arm. _It had to be_ _Tony._ _Jesus_ _Christ let me be._

"Fuck off Tony, I'm trying to sleep asshole. Piss off and find someone else to annoy." Steve mumbled into the pillow he had his face smashed into. A light gasp makes him bring his face up. 

The realization was made quick. The person trying to wake him up definitely was not Tony.

Steve wanted to die right there on the spot. _Just my fucking luck._ "Shit."

Of course James Barnes was standing right next to Steve with the same look of shock from the elevator a couple of days ago.

You know, the same look from right before Steve made him bawl his eyes out. 

He slammed his head back into the pillow. 

"Uh, Mr. Rogers-" James starts, seemingly trying to keep his nervousness out of his voice only for Steve to cut him off. 

"Steve is fine." Silence. He almost brings his head up to check if James is okay but Steve keeps his head smooshed into the cushion. 

"..Steve. Um. Tony asked me to come up here and take a look at your wall and when I arrived your phone was blowing up a bit. I felt bad trying to wake you up since you seemed so at peace but I was afraid that it might be important so I-" Steve cuts the poor guy off _again_ by blindly reaching out for his phone. 

Instead Steve literally grabs James' leg. 

His lower thigh apparently. 

Fuck. 

Steve quickly removes his hand. _I hope he didn't notice that._

But he did. 

"..can you pass me my phone James." His phone is given to him silently. Steve brings his head up and lets his eyes adjust to the light surrounding him. Then he checks his notifications. 

6 _Notifications:_

_[Natasha R]: did you seriously forget our sparring session_ **4** **m ago**

_[Natasha R]: I'm giving you 5 mins to get ur ass down here or I come up and drag u down myself_ **3** **m ago**

_[Tony S]: :)_ **3m ago**

_[Tony S]: Dont look a gift horse in the mouth_ **3m ago**

_[Tony S]: Im doing you a_ _favor_ **2m ago**

_[Tony S]: Take advantage of this_ _moment to apologize :)_ **2m ago**

Steve was going to _kill_ Tony.

If Natasha didn't kill Steve first. 

"Oh shit." He quickly gets up from the couching, letting the blanket fall to the floor. "You need to leave." Steve says out loud as he starts stripping off his sleep shirt and heading to his room to change, hoping that James will get the message and dip before Natasha arrives. 

He's already embarrassed himself enough in front of James and Steve was not in the mood for Natasha to do it for him. When Steve comes out of his bedroom James is just standing there, red in the face.

Oh yeah, Steve was still shirtless.

At least he wasn't crying this time.

"James you gotta go, you don't want to meet-" The familiar ding from JARVIS makes Steve stop in his tracks. "Don't you _dare_ JARVIS, don't you fucking-"

"Ms. Romanov has arrived, Captain." The front door slams open and the fiery red head comes marching in. _I am so dead, she's gonna fucking murder me._

"ROGERS." Steve cringes and quickly pulls the athletic shirt over his head as Natasha rounds the corner into the living space. 

She notices James right away. 

She still drags Steve out of his own apartment by his ear with a silent _'who is that and what where they doing there'_ knowing that Steve will cave and tell her anything. 

Steve suddenly realizes he still didn't apologize to James for the elevator, OR the cussing out, OR the leg thing. 

Well shit. 

He'll try again tomorrow if Natasha allows him to live. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I re-wrote this chapter like maybe 4 times. in 2 of those re-writes I had Steve cooking pasta, I just really want pasta.


	3. one step forward, two more back

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey queens, got a short chapter for y'all. yes it's like 1am my time. leave me alone and just read :)
> 
> quick fyi, while writing I listened to all of mitski's discography and I think that says a lot about this chapter

Avoidance didn't work. 

Which really sucked for Steve because that meant that he was just back at square one. 

A normal person would check those search results again or ask someone like Pepper for advice. 

Steve is not a normal person. He's just really fucking stupid. 

Tony was laughing his ass off when Steve explained his new found situation. Like he totally wasn't responsible for the escalation Steve's problems at all. The blonde almost pulled a Natasha and threw a punch at Tony. He decided to be useful and actually try to help Steve after that. 

"You know what, I have an idea." Tony starts, Steve drags his hand over his face hoping that this isn't going to be stupid.

"What Tony." 

"So when Pepper was mad at me, I went and brought her strawberries. You should do something like that for James, but personalized for him." _Hey that's actually not a half bad idea- wait._

"Isn't Pepper allergic to strawberries-" Tony cuts him off with a condescending shush. That punch is starting to look better and better to Steve. "Are you suggesting I find out what James is allergic to and purposefully poison him? Put him through even more shit even though this is supposed to be an apology?"

"Oh shut the fuck up Rogers. You know that's not what I meant. Take it or leave it." 

Steve kicks him out of his apartment after that. But he can't help but think, maybe delivering some of James' favorite food's wouldn't be such a bad idea. 

He couldn't ask Pepper.

That would be weird. Steve cringes at possible conversation. _'Hey Pepper, you know your assistant, the one who I made cry the other day, yeah James, what's his favorite food?'_

So he chooses to take a different path. Not as awkward as the question for Pepper, but just as creepy. Maybe more. 

Steve was going have JARVIS find out for him.

And JARVIS never really let Steve down. 

The specific chinese restaurant that James frequents and his usual order that Steve received from JARVIS proves exactly that. 

Maybe it was a little invasive but it was for a good cause. Steve wanted to apologize for real this time. 

Of _fucking_ course he doesn't get to apologize in the way he wants. 

With a bag of chinese food in his hand and the small family owned place now with a picture with Captain America hanging up in their restaurant, Steve leaves the elevator at Pepper's floor. 

This is it, he's finally going to say sorry to James for his rudeness. 

Steve sees his office and a nervous smile forms on his face. _You can do this, you can do this, you can-_

His phone begins flashing a bright red and beeping in a familiar pattern. 

"Oh you have got to be shitting me." The blonde accepts the call. "Yes Fury." 

"Off the bench, you're up Rogers. Suit up, you have 5 minutes."

Steve internally groans, he was going to give the food to James, apologize for his actions and maybe make a friend. But no.

Steve had to go and be Captain fucking America. 

"Yeah Fury, one sec." 

"Don't you dare 'one sec' me Rogers-" He pockets the phone without hanging up and looks around for anyone in the immediate surrounding. Steve finds a guy in a blue button up throwing away his coffee cup in a nearby trash can. Steve starts running full speed straight for him. 

"HEY!" The guy turns around and his eyes go wide at Steve as he approaches him. The guy mouths 'me?' and looks around. "Yes you! I need you to do something for me." Steve passes blue shirt guy the bag of food. "Give this to James Barnes, tell him it's from Steve alright?" A quick nod. "Great." The blonde starts walking away and takes his phone from his pocket only to have Fury screaming in his ear. 

"All you do is disrespect me, you should have learned how not to in the army. You're lucky you're a super solider." Steve huffs at Fury's harsh words and heads back to the elevator. As he waits for it to arrive, he looks back and watches blue shirt guy knock on James' office door.

When James walks out and gets given the food, the adorable smile on his face was absolutely worth Fury yelling at Steve over the phone. 

It wasn't until he was on the jet completely suited up in his stealth gear that Steve realized he called James adorable. 

The more he thought about James from their short and admittedly strange encounters, the more he found himself agreeing with that statement. 

Fuck.

Mark that down another problem for Steve. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> another fun little note~ when I originally posted the first chapter I had written out the next 2 chapters. they weren't very good hence me having to re-write them but I wanted to mention I originally had Bucky drop off chinese food. the story line was obviously different in that one so it made sense for that but I kinda recycled the idea.


	4. it takes two to tango

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *not me letting this fic sit for a month without being updated and letting plot ideas marinate while I'm trying to do actual real life work*
> 
> hola ppl. 
> 
> so throughout the month I did make attempts to start writing but I never liked any of the ideas so they either got scrapped or recycled. one or two did stick which this chapter is mostly built on. instead of writing down ch 4 I sat down and planned out the next 3 ch (which I might write all of them this weekend so I can take a break during the week but dont quote me on that) by planning the next ch I know where the plot is going. woah?? I'm writing a real plot?? dude im surprised too.
> 
> my notes might be annoying but I want ppl to know that I dont drop a ch and then dip bc I hate writing. I just struggle with writing something I'm happy enough with to post sometimes. so u might need to bare with me sometimes. 
> 
> (also this is a little bit of a filler ch bc I wanted steve and bucky to interact more b4 the plot actually becomes relevant so I'm sorry if its short and seems a bit out of place)

Being Captain America sometimes _really_ fucking sucks Steve's come to learn. 

There's good and bad things about it, as there is in everything. Sometimes he almost gets blown up, other times he's getting targeted by foreign intelligence, or having to find out that nazis still exist. It happens. 

For Steve, one of the worst things was how much time he has to overthink the hell out of things. 

And overthink he does. 

It's almost like the empty google search screen was mocking Steve.

Yes his search was oddly specific, _H_ _ow does one ask out someone who they have sent Chinese food as an apology but never actually apologized to their face because being around them makes you_ nervous?, but according to Tony the internet has all the answers. _Well it_ _certainly fucking doesn't now does it Tony._ Steve drags a hand down his face and leaves it to rest under his chin. 

So maybe being a just human in general was really shitty. 

No, having _feelings_ was really shitty. Steve hated the idea that some random stranger, a beautiful one admittedly, had somehow managed to get under his skin without even trying. Did James even know what affect he had on Steve? He's really hoping that James doesn't. 

But there's a small part of him that whispers that if James _did_ notice then maybe he might reciprocate. 

Steve lets out a frustrated groan and slams his head onto the table. 

Fucking feelings. 

He's made a lot of bad choices and Steve bets if he asked Pepper for advice, he might actually be able to salvage things. However, asking Pepper means probably getting a 45 minute lecture about how awful of an idea to date a co-worker because they might break up and how James might quit. And he's no pussy, he's stood up to Fury but Pepper is a completely different story. Going to her is a last minute resort. Onto the next best option.

Steve's phone sits besides his laptop and he quickly picks it up to dial a familiar number. 

It rings for a moment. They pick up.

_"What do you want Rogers."_

"Uh," Steve squints at the time on his laptop, _7am._ "Morning, I need some advice Natasha."

A sigh comes from the other side of the phone. 

_"Is this about James."_ Steve scoffs, she knows him too well.

"Yeah, I've moved past wanting to apologize normally, I think I want to ask him out on a date or something. Or should I apologize first and become friends before. But by doing that he might only see me as a friend and I don't want that. But also at the same time-" Natasha's laughter cuts him off. "Oh so I come asking for advice in my moment of peril and you just laugh at me?" _Maybe that 45 minute_ _lecture is looking like the better option._

_"You're just lame Rogers, just ask him out to coffee and let him decide if it's a date or not. There, problem solved. You get to talk to him for a bit and actually apologize to his face."_ _That doesn't sound so bad._

"I wish things came that easy to me Nat." He gets out sheepishly. 

_"It's because I'm that much better than you Steve."_ Her words were sharp but there wasn't any bite in Natasha's tone. Steve feels his shoulders relax, her advice is much better than anything else he's received. 

"Thanks, I'll call you back later Nat."

_"We're sparing next_ _Wednesday."_ And then she hangs up on him. 

Maybe Steve will ask him to coffee. 

Step 1 was to find James obviously. 

What Steve knows is that Pepper loves punctuality and starting days early, so James must already be here. The blonde catches the elevator and finds himself fidgeting with the pockets of his jeans. _Stop being nervous, it's just coffee. He might not even think it's date._

Steve takes a deep breath and steps out when the elevator doors open to Pepper's floor. He rounds the corner and scans the area. There's just a few staff members around, most of them ordering their breakfast from the tower bakery. 

And then he spots James. His brunette hair was completely down, resting just above his shoulders with a slight wave to them. James' bag rested comfortably by his side and Steve noticed that the jumper he wore seemed to be slightly too big for him, the sleeve cuffs covering up most of James' hands. All that he could see was James' fingers wrapped around a travel mug. The most important thing to Steve though was that James looked adorable and _happy._ No wobbling lips or tired eyes, just a fresh morning look.

He forever wants to make James always look so content and at peace. 

It's almost as Steve's feet act on their own and begin walking over to where James is waiting. 

"Good Morning James." He says to the brunette with a large smile plastered across his face. James looks up to Steve and a little shy smile forms on his face.

"Hello Cap- Steve. Good morning Steve." He stumbles through a greeting and Steve swears his heart aches a little bit. "Are you looking for Ms. Potts? She's already in her office, if so." A piece of hair falls into James' face and it takes everything for the blonde to not reach out and move it back behind his ear. 

"No I was actually looking for you, I was wondering if you wanted to get coffee? My treat." Steve offers confidently, never once taking his eyes off of James. _Now that was smooth Rogers!_ The brunette cocks his head to the side and holds up the travel mug he was already holding. 

"I already have coffee though?" James answers in a confused tone. 

Steve's brain blanks for a moment. 

What. 

That wasn't supposed to happen. 

"Oh that's alright, see you later then James. Have a good rest of your day." Steve waves goodbye and walks away almost on auto pilot. It wasn't until he's safely in the elevator with the doors shut when he finally freaks out. 

_What the fuck was that Steve? Huh? Didn't even manage to clarify that you didn't mean right now?_ He face palms. Throughout all of his interactions with him, James must think that Steve is just really fucking stupid. 

It's better than James thinking that Steve was an asshole.

"Jesus Christ all mighty." He mumbles to himself in the empty elevator. 

Natasha's going to laugh at him again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> surprise they're both stupid!!


	5. remember the buddy system

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ello loves
> 
> I'm back bb 
> 
> ~here's a mEgA chapter~
> 
> yes I know it's been over 2 months, ive been busy with a lot of school work. online isn't as easy as u would think :/
> 
> v happy about the election outcome!! trump is getting the boot finally!!! I don't want to hear anyone supporting him in my comments, we all know that Steve would despise trump
> 
> hope u are all well and not ready to stab me with pitch forks, there were attempts to work on this I promise. I actually lost the original notes lol. something along the lines of 'blah blah angsty blah fluffy at the end' but I gave up on that plot line
> 
> cheers to changing the plot like half way through!!! :)

Steve did in fact get laughed at by Natasha.

He also got his ass _whooped_ during that sparring session.

Truly the only good thing, to be determined, to come out of Steve's failed attempt at a coffee date is that Steve has learned that James does not pick up on signs of flirting. That could potentially be a good thing, and it could unfortunately be a very bad thing.

And now he's back here, at his computer, staring at his arch nemesis google. All of his past searches have been just a bit on the nose so he goes for a more broad question _'how do you ask someone out'_ The internet definitely should have an answer to this one right?

Well there were answers but Steve just didn't like any of them. 

"What the fuck does it mean by strike up a casual conversation? Talk about the weather? The fuck? The weather is lame! Even I know that."

So Steve wasn't having a good time and he is not above making it everyone's problem.

How in the hell is he supposed to ask James out?

Turns out Steve wouldn't have to do any asking yet since Pepper _basically_ already did it for him. That women was either a saint or a demon and Steve couldn't decide at the moment.

However the issue with Pepper's unintentional meddling was that he was now going to have to attend a cocktail party filled with stuffy old white men who don't understand that Steve wasn't a racist prick and how he did _not_ want to hear about their weird and quite frankly creepy escapades with younger women. 

True story, Steve wanted to bleach his brain after that. 

Pepper's final point was that James wasn't actually attending, if anything he was more so the unofficial host when herself and Tony were off speaking to people. She off-handily mentioned that James is excellent at keeping everything together and how he was a perfect fit for the job. Steve had to stifle a laugh into his hand as he remembered their first meeting. The glare given from the women was obvious that Steve hadn't done a good enough job at it.

Pepper ~~insisted~~ asked that Steve would stay around James throughout the night to be a friendly face. 

Now Steve isn't stupid.

Yes he's dumb sometimes, but he could also tell that something was amiss. Tony slight smirk as he was eating dinner was a hint. But without any other proof or reason, the blonde elected to ignore it.

Ignorance is bliss they say. 

Regardless, Steve has an opening to maybe get to know James a bit more. Figure _Maybe I should follo_ _w that advice on asking someone out._ Flashback to Steve screaming at his laptop. He cringes at the memory as he chooses between which suit jacket to wear for tonight's party. _Yeah maybe not the best idea._ He picks up a navy suit jacket. 

A fleeting thought passes through Steve's mind. _Will he be clashing with what James is wearing?_

Oh my fucking god.

He's thinking about if he would be clashing with something who isn't even his date. _Do you want him to be your date?_

"Jesus Christ almighty." Steve buries his head in his hands and groans in embarrassment. The way he just _knows_ that his ears are burning up. "Get it together Rogers." 

He still didn't mange to get it together

Steve knows nearly nothing about the event tonight other than 3 things, there's a roof top patio at the venue, there will be a small firework show for the attendees, and that he is to try keep James company throughout the night. 

He's already failed since he has no fucking clue where James even is. One of things that Steve did _not_ know was that James would be arriving at an early time than Steve would be. He was set up for failure even before the event started. Steve could ask Pepper but that would mean he's already failed at the simple task she asked him to complete.

Finding James in the crowd of crusty old white haired men should be easy. And it was. 

After entering the main room and doing a few greetings, Steve found the man in question speaking to a waiter near one of the many bars and looking a little distressed in his face. _Being able to keep everything under control my ass._ Minus the fact that he seemed upset with something, James looked, well he looked amazing. Missing from his face were the familiar black thick rimmed glasses. He wore black suit with a maroon tie, simple but classy and Steve really liked it. The blonde can't help but think about what James looked like when they met in the elevator. This is certainly an upgrade from that eventful day. James' hair was beautiful and Steve wanted to run his fingers through it as they cuddled- _aye whoa whoa whoa, slow down there buddy_. _we are not there yet._ With a deep breath to both calm the weird emotions and to steady himself, Steve waited until the waiter left to approach James. 

"Evening James, I've been looking for you." The slight jump from the man tells Steve that James was not expecting him. 

"Uh hi Steve. Is there something you need? Because I can get it for you." James attempts to wave down one of the venue staff but Steve stops his hand. 

"No, no, no need. I just wanted to see you. You're what I'm looking for." 

2 things. 

No Steve will not be addressing what he just said. 

Second thing. It seems that James was not made aware that Steve would be accompanying him tonight. 

Bright eyes stared back at him and he came to the realization that he was still holding onto James' arm. Instead of just dropping his arm, Steve let go slowly. The blush on James' face was not missed. 

Shit, make that 3 things. Desperate to salvage the weird encounter, Steve just leads with the first thing that comes to mind.

"Uh, contacts tonight?" Real smooth Rogers. 

"Oh! Yes, I usually wear contacts at events. Since at work I'm on a computer most of the time, I opt for glasses. Much less strain on the eyes."

"Ah, makes sense. I don't wear contacts, or glasses so I wouldn't really get it. How long have you been wearing glasses?" 

"Since about 3rd grade? I don't know sorry." 

The conversation goes quiet again. _SAY SOMETHING, ANYTHING_ _YOU DUMBFUCK._

"So how has your-" "Are you enjoying-" As Steve tries to start up the conversation just as James has the same idea. "You can go first James, sorry."

"No no no no it's okay, are you enjoying the party so far? Um, there's more planned coming up so if you're not enjoying yourself right now I'm sure that you will like the next part."

"What's coming up next?" Steve feigns ignorance knowing that there is going to be fireworks. He doesn't want this to end. 

"Fireworks! However I can't watch them, you're gonna have to tell me how they were."

Oh.

Well Steve isn't going to let that happen.

It's like he can hear Natasha's voice in his head inviting him to watch the fireworks with him. He waits for a moment before talking again in a soft tone. 

"Come watch the fireworks with me." The look that James gives Steve is a look of confusion and maybe a bit of uncertainty. 

"But I-I have to take care of the guests I-" He gestures to the group of people in front go them. The blonde cuts him off quickly. 

"James, indulge me with this please. I am a guest aren't I?" Steve grins as he delivers the last line. He's expecting an eye-roll but James gives him small smile and looks towards the window.

"Well I guess,," James barley gets out his agreement and he's already getting pulled towards the rooftop patio space.

It was much quieter outside. There were a few other guests mingling outside but Steve knew that it would soon be full of people watching the show. He wanted to find the perfect spot before they were all taken. There was a closed off area, far away from where other guests would soon be filling up. 

"C'mon, over here." Steve basically drags James over and before the brunette can object, whatever he wanted to say is completely forgotten about when James gets a look at the view of the city. 

"Oh wow,,it's,, woah" He knows he's grinning like an idiot, Steve's really hoping that James hasn't noticed how happy he is just because of the brunette's reaction. 

"Yeah it's really stunning isn't it." The blonde rests his arm on the ledge and James follows, keeping his gaze on the city below. _Perfect time for_ _apologizes?_ "Right, hey James?" The man looks back at Steve, awaiting for a question. "I just want to say sorry. I- well I haven't been the kindest to you. And I have some apologies I want to make, I've got a list." James lets out a little chuckle but seemingly goes with it. "Ok, I'm sorry for that one time I cursed you out when you woke me up from a nap. I'm sorry I grabbed your thigh then too. I'm sorry for insulting your coffee, that wasn't my intention. And finally, the worst one of all, I'm sorry for scaring you and then laughing at you in the elevator. I don't even have an excuse for that one, definitely my bad." 

Steve finishes listing off his "sorries" and when he looks back at James he sees the man desperately trying to keep his laugher in. "What? Did I say something funny?" And that does it. James just breaks into a laughing fit. Steve can't help but join in. 

He's decided that there isn't anything he wants to hear more of other than James' laugher. Through laugher the brunette gets out a response.

"Yes, yes you did. Have you been waiting to apologize for all of those things since they happened?" Steve nods his head. "Oh my god Steve, you didn't have to. I understood all of those situations." James makes eye contact with Steve. "You're just too sweet." They're both wearing matching blushes, hoping that the other will just chalk it up to the cold night time air surrounding them. 

Steve's the first one to break and to look back down at the view below.

He wants to say more. 

He _should_ say more. Tell James that he genuinely wants to take him on a date, whether it was coffee or a fancy dinner. 

With a deep breath, Steve musters up all the confidence he has and returns his gaze towards the brunette. 

_You can do this._

"James I was also wondering if-" His words died on his tongue as the first boom goes off. 

The fireworks were a sight but James, well he was just breathtaking to Steve. Both the stars and the fireworks reflected in James' eyes. 

Watching the light from the sky shine onto his face was worth it all. 

Steve let his mouth shut.

He could always ask another time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im not sure how many of y'all watch unus annus but the title of this chapter came from them lol. 
> 
> here's the real link to the article Steve was reading if u want it. it's not helpful. 
> 
> https://www.wikihow.com/Ask-Someone-Out
> 
> also I KNOW Ive written the same fucking plot line with a party and whatever, I dont care!! I like it!!
> 
> LAST THING I PROMISE  
> Steve finally got to apologize and he somehow made it romantic? go white boy go!


	6. the theatrics are not necessary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey
> 
> just a short chapter today :)  
> nothing special tho  
> please dont quote me but I think I might get another chapter in by the end this month (hehehehe)
> 
> also!!!! I wanna say that currently its also like december in this fic at the moment so the next update might just be a holiday special :0
> 
> (I think the more and more I write this fic it starts to feel more crack like to me.)

Chickening out was not in Steve's vocabulary.

He fought nazis in WW2, was frozen for nearly seventy years, and when he was thawed, got back to fighting nazis. 

So what the ever living FUCK was Steve _still_ scared to ask James out. 

He paced up and down his living room, overthinking everything and anything he could. The blonde felt like pulling his own hair out. 

Steve was so suave the last time he actually spoke to James.

Showing him the view, getting to know him a little bit, maybe making the man blush- _oh you delusional motherfucker._

This familiar feeling of failure is starting to get _real_ _repetitive._ Steve was not having it. 

He's gonna do it right now, Steve's going to take his stupid super solider to Jame's floor and ask him to dinner.

Not coffee, not lunch, dinner. No more half-assed attempts or making it sound platonic, the blonde is going to ask James out on a proper romantic date. 

A nice classic date.

Even though the tower has heating, Steve pulls on a light zip and ~~storms~~ leaves his apartment determined. 

_No more interruptions, no more interruptions , no more inter-_

His phone goes off.

Steve doesn't answer it. Instead he stands there, frozen with ringing and buzzing phone in his back pocket. 

Then he snaps.

"Are you fucking kidding me! I- Jesus Christ! Give me a fucking break! I have things I want to do and UGH-" Steve knows he's yelling at this point. The rational part of his brain _also_ knows he's over reacting. But neither him or the intelligent part of his brain do anything to stop it. "Why don't things just go _my fucking way-"_

The ringing phone that was once in his pocket was getting chucked as hard as Steve could before he could even really think about it.

Then it was silent. 

_Eerily, silent_ his brain unhelpfully provided. 

Steve's phone wasn't ringing or buzzing, which was nice. 

Peaceful almost.

Wanna know what wasn't nice? 

His half phone being _FUCKING_ wedged into the nearest wall while the other half had scattered onto the floor below. 

Steve felt himself freeze up for the second time. 

_You got what you wanted, didn't you. Some peace and quiet for once._

If Steve could fight his inner thoughts he would be swinging _so_ quickly. 

This was not at _all_ how he wanted today to go.

So no more phone for Steve. He could survive. Eventually the blonde is going to tell Tony that he needed a new one, but it just isn't his concern at the moment. 

Well it was concerning but not his #1 concern.

Steve was heading to that one right now after he took a couple of minuets to cool down his anger at, _whatever_ he was angry at. It took a much shorter time than expected though. 

Who knew that chucking a phone was actually quite therapeutic?

And now Steve is taking elevator to James' floor to finally complete his task of asking the brunette on a date. 

There was a small thought in his head that started to echo.

_What if James says no?_

Steve felt his stomach drop as he walks out of the elevator and towards the room he knows that James works in. 

_Don't think like that, don't think like that, don't think like that, don't think like that._

One deep breath. He knocks on James' office door.

_"It's open!!"_ It was a bit muffled due to the wall but Steve knew that that wasn't James' voice.

It sounded too airy and light.

Feminine. 

And it wasn't Pepper's.

Oh god. 

A second deep breath, and Steve presses the handle down. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> stupid angry Steve is so fukcing fun to write im not even gonna apologize for that.
> 
> ?? cliff hanger??   
> did I do that???   
> whoops????


	7. losing the shell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SURPISE ENDING HAHAHAH
> 
> FUCK
> 
> im like actually sorry that I lost motivation for this fic when I first started writing it, so im ending it here since im no longer happy with it. 
> 
> ive learned my lesson :)
> 
> (im gonna keep doing this UGH)
> 
> ALSO wandavision is WOW I just love it.
> 
> THE TRAILER FOR TFATWS!!! YES AHHHH
> 
> *this chapter has not been proof read and I dont intend to fix any errors. let it die, let it die, let it shrivel up and die!*
> 
> EDIT 2/12/21: BYEEEE THIS FIC JUST PASSED MY VERY FIRST (TAKE A CHANCE ON ME) IN HITS. THANK U AHHHHHHHHH

Feminine. 

Steve had been so determined and that was all knocked down because of a, he's assuming, some women being in the same room as James? 

_Jealousy is such an ugly look Rogers._

He couldn't be jealous. 

Steve wasn't dating James, he hadn't even be able to ask the man out on a date. Instead he pined from a distance and somehow made every situation worse. 

Like a fucking _idiot_. 

The first thing the blonde realizes when he steps into the room is the tall brunette women standing next to James' desk. And the second thing?

How much they look alike.

_You dumb fucking bitch._ Steve finds himself letting out a breath of relief, walking towards the two now with a brighter mind set. No more jealous monkey brain.The women looks at Steve and then does a double take. 

"CAPTAIN AMERICA?" He can't help but laugh at her reaction. Steve eyes James and sees the flush of embarrassment across his face. The women whipped her head to stare at James. "Bucky you know Captain America and you didn't tell me?" Steve kinda blanks at the nickname. _Bucky?_

"I didn't think it would be important." James swallows. He turns and smiles wobbly at the blonde. "Hiya _Steve_ , this is my sister Becca, Becca meet Steve Rogers. She kinda dropped in unannounced after I called." James accentuates his first name when introducing him. With the way that her mouth dropped in shocked told Steve that he was missing something.

Probably nothing.

"Don't even worry about it." Steve responds brightly still thinking about James' smile.

Wait. His mind blanks again.

Call?

Oh shit. _That_ call. 

"I was a little worried that you didn't pick up but I'm glad you uh, made it here." James turns and faces his, confirmed, sister and his genuine smile turns a little fake. "Becca was _just_ leaving, weren't you Becs?" There's some snarkiness to his tone, Steve really likes it.

"Oh you little-" his sister starts before getting cut off. 

" _Out._ " Becca puts her hands out in defense and walks towards the door, passing Steve on her way out. 

"Nice meeting you Steve, we will see you at dinner soon?" And then she's gone before he could even process her question. 

_Dinner?_ James waits until she's out the door before turning his attention back to Steve.

"So I-

"I called because-"

They both attempted to speak at the same time. James lets out an adorable little laugh. 

"You can go first James." The brunette lets a little smile slip. 

He gets up out of his chair and walks around to the front of the desk, ending by standing right in front of Steve. 

"I _called_ today since I had a realization. About coffee. After I spoke to a friend, I think I didn't quite get the message the first time."

"Oh really, I didn't notice." Steve allows himself to laugh at that. Remembering entire encounter well strictly because of the embarrassment that came with it. 

"What I'm saying is," James laughs as he reaches his arms out and holds each of Steve's hands in his own. "I'd like it if you would try again. Because I really like you Steve."

"Even with our _delicate_ first meeting and every single one after that?" The brunette attempts to cover his smile by turning away after Steve's answer. 

"Especially because of our first meeting." James just smiles and stares down at their hands for a minuet before looking back at Steve in the eyes. "Steve?"

"One thing." The man in front of him whispers _oh god_. "Can I call you Bucky?" Laugher escapes both of them 

"I'm gonna kill Becca. But first get to it Rogers." He says in a affection tone. Steve squeezes James'- no, Bucky's hands. 

"Let me try again, one last time, _Bucky_ would you like to go out to coffee with me?"

"I think it would be for the best if I said yes." Steve feels his face break into a smile and he removes his hands from Bucky's hold to bring them up to the brunette's face. "Steve." Bucky says a little breathlessly.

"Bucky can I-"

A loud ringing stops him in his tracks. "Oh your fucking kidding me." Sitting on Bucky's desk was a buzzing and ringing phone. Bucky reaches and grabs the phone without breaking away from Steve's hands. He answers the call and puts it on speaker.

"Hello?" Bucky says to the phone. 

"Hey James, I know Steve's with you. Tell him we've got a call and we gotta go now." Steve groans while Bucky laughs at his reaction. 

"I hate you Tony." He says in a a tired voice. 

"Don't shoot the messenger, prick." Bucky hangs up after that. 

They stare at each other for a few moments, Steve still holding Bucky's face in his hands. 

"So you have to go huh." The blonde nods his head. "Well I guess I'll have to give you a goodbye and a good luck kiss." Bucky leans up and presses their lips together, momentary shocking Steve before he gets with the program and presses back. 

When they part Bucky face is flushed and Steve's betting his is as well. They're both wearing matching smiles.

"Coffee when I get back?"

"You bet Steve." The brunette kisses Steve once more before breaking away. "Now shoo." 

Steve can't help but smile more at Bucky. He walks to the door and once he's out of the room he thinks one thing.

He's one lucky motherfucker. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> good riddance these homos got it together!!
> 
> (its me, the homo who finally got it together and put down this poor fic)
> 
> its done woo, all these chapters are really disconnected and eventually I'll figure out how to not do that blah blah blah blah 
> 
> thanks y'all <3 see u again soon bc I cannot help myself

**Author's Note:**

> thank u for reading, check out some of my other works if u want!!


End file.
